Department of Transportation yet to set demolition date for old Rocheport Bridge

ROCHEPORT, Mo. (KMIZ)

The Missouri Department of Transportation has not yet set a date for the demolition of the old Rocheport Bridge, but said it will be sometime in September.

Saturday morning, MoDOT and consultant team Lunda held a meeting at the A-Frame in Rocheport to discuss the progress of the Rocheport Bridges construction. MoDOT spoke about the progress on the replacement of the route BB overpass, what’s next for the old bridge, and the next steps towards building a new eastbound bridge.

At the last meeting, it was shared that construction of the westbound bridge had been completed and the old bridge is set to be demolished sometime in September. 

All traffic has been moved to the westbound bridge while construction of the new eastbound bridge is being completed. That bridge is set to be complete and open to traffic by December of 2024.

According to MoDot - the Rocheport bridge carries 34,000 vehicles and 8,227 commercial vehicles daily and the bridge is being replaced because a rehab would have only extended the useful life of the bridge by about 10 years. Where a total replacement of the bridge extends it's life to 100 years.